


Overnight

by alexdanvxrs



Category: Captain Marvel (2019)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-05-13 09:09:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19248130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexdanvxrs/pseuds/alexdanvxrs
Summary: Maria Rambeau hasn't slept well in six years.Before she met Carol, she was hard on the outside, never letting herself be seen. And then Carol Danvers worms her way into her life, her home, her heart, until all three of those things are synonymous with Carol herself.So, how do your recover when you lose the person most important to you, and then they reappear after six extremely long years of mourning?Or: Carol Danvers fell in love with Maria Rambeau, and then found herself back to her family where she belongs... or did she?





	Overnight

She hadn’t slept well for six years. 

The last time she slept well, she woke up with her best friend between her arms. Their legs intertwined under the covers, fingers interlocked, bodies pressed against one another. Carol’s blonde hair was a bundle of waves, crashing strand after strand atop their shared pillows in the early morning when their phone rang.

Maria Rambeau’s feelings for Carol Danvers were always strong. They just weren’t always positive. Maria joined the Air Force to live up to a legacy, to honor her family, and truthfully, to spite all the men in her life who told her she’d never be good enough, especially because of her gender and skin color. She was determined to be the very best in her class, so when five-foot-eight Carol Danvers showed up on base, and actually gave her a run for her money? She really tried to not like her. She needed to beat the competition, not socialize with it. She needed to ignore her shit-eating grins that followed snarky comments, even if it was adorable. 

Eventually, Danvers wore her down. It started with early morning jogs around base for some extra training, so they could push each other. And without too many more women around, who was Maria to say no?

One thing lead to another. Early mornings turned to even later nights, both ending up a little too tipsy and a little too friendly at Pancho’s after a long day on base. Weeks of this turned to months, and after a certain point, they decided it would just be easier for Carol to stay over. So she had a toothbrush and a drawer in the guest room down the hall, but the lingering stares before goodnight departures never felt enough. 

Maria loved everything about Carol Susan Jane Danvers. The way her eyes and nose crinkled simultaneously when Monica made her double over in laughter. The fire in her eyes as she snarked her way around base. The gentle kiss she’d give Monica’s knee after bandaging a scrape, promises of ice cream already at the tip of her tongue. The carmel brown hue of her eyes in the light. Her talent, her power, her confidence in everything she wanted. So when Carol realized she wanted Maria, she let her have her. And just like that, the lines between Maria’s Bed and Maria’s Bedroom and Maria’s House and Maria’s Daughter blurred until they became “Our Bed” and “Our Bedroom” and “Our House” and “Our Daughter.” 

The night before Maria’s last good sleep, she knew they’d be getting their chance soon. Carol had been getting anxious, desperate to do something that felt genuinely useful after so many years of training so hard to be the best. She refused to let her possession of the pronouns “she” and “her” keep her from helping save lives.

“Carol, baby, Lawson is almost there. She’ll call us soon enough, and when she does, you bet your ass I’m gonna beat you to that base,” Maria comforted, offering a beer. Carol’s shoulders relaxed, a smirk encompassed her face, and she accepted the gift.

“In your dreams, Rambeau.”

“Well, Monica’s down for the night... wanna make some more of my dreams come true?”

Carol kissed her, gentle at first, knowing exactly what Maria was insinuating. And just like that, they found their way through their home, to their room, in their bed.

Maria knew Lawson was getting close to launching project Pegasus. She didn’t realize how close, until their phone rang at the ass-crack of dawn. If she’d known, she would’ve held Carol a little tighter that night. She would’ve kissed her harder. She would’ve lost her hands in her blonde locks a little longer. She would’ve said how much she loved her one more time.

So, when Carol took a shortcut and beat her by mere seconds to the base, she couldn’t help but be a little frustrated. Looking back, Maria would’ve done anything to have beaten her. Just so she wouldn’t have to be the one who had to pick up the pieces after Carol crashed into the ground, never to be seen again. Her hero, vanished, gone without a trace, assumed dead.

That was the first night she didn’t get any sleep.

And somehow, she survived six years without her person, her home. “Their room” slowly became “Maria’s room” again, but there wasn’t a day that went by where she and Monica didn’t think about or mention Auntie Carol.

That is, until, Carol waltzed into their garage with her dramatic “I’m not who you think I am”s and super-soldier attitude, sans the memories and the history and the knowing Maria better than the back of her own (now glowing) hand. But still... she could touch her again. And that was enough. It would have to be enough. Maria loved her, she always loved her, and she was determined to remind her of who she was: Her very best friend, the woman who supported her as a pilot and a mother when no one else did, the most powerful person she knew, way before she could shoot fire from her fists. Carol Susan Jane Danvers was the love of her life (after Monica, of course), so there was no question she’d follow her to space in an aircraft not meant for the journey once she ensured her -- no, their -- daughter’s safety. 

Six years ago, Carol got to have her hero moment. She died in a blaze of glory for her country, and was reborn in another. She was different, but she was still hers. So many things had changed about her, but not her strength, not her humor, not the way her body felt against Maria’s in their embraces, and definitely not the way her caramel brown eyes looked like heaven. But now, they had their hero moment together.

And so, when Carol had the audacity to look at her like  _ that _ after all was said and done, Maria couldn’t help but wonder if she remembered the truth about their relationship. The love they shared. The life they shared. And that’s how Maria found herself staring at Carol in the hallway, Monica resting peacefully, Fury on his way back home, and Talos’s family resting in the ship before their journey. Her ratty heart T-shirt she could never muster up the will to get rid of after Carol’s passing still fit her perfectly in all the right places. Her blonde hair pooling around her shoulders, her gaze matching Maria’s.

“You should take a picture, it would last longer Rambeau.”

“You already know I’m good about keeping those around, Monica made sure to show you.”

Carol smirked and laughed fondly, heart full of love for her family, even if she couldn’t remember all of the details just yet. 

“You know, while I’m working out all the details up here,” she pointed to her head cooly, “could you give me a refresher on if I’m supposed to sleep in my old room like when I first moved in, or if I get to share our bed again?”

Maria’s heart dropped.  _ She remembered. _ Absolutely nothing else mattered.  _ She remembers and she knows and dear God I missed her every single second of those six goddamn long years and I need her right now. _

Maria felt like she was in slow motion. Carol’s knowing smirk was everything she needed and more. Rambeau reached out with her right hand, pulling Carol in by the waist, cupping her cheek with her left, leaning into everything she’d been craving for the six longest years of her life. She was holding her tighter. She was kissing her harder. She was running her hands through those blonde locks that she missed so much. They were crashing into each other, everything felt just  _ right _ for the first time since that last night of good sleep.

And then Maria was crashing into reality again, just like she had every night for the past six years. She shot up in a cold sweat, already feeling the loss of the fake reality her brain had invented once more. Maybe in another reality, she thought. Maybe there’s another universe that isn’t as cruel as her own, one where she gets to fall harder, and further, and faster in love with a returned-from-the-dead Carol Danvers all over again. She glanced at the clock to her side.  _ 3:29 a.m.  _ With a sigh, she slammed her head back into the pillows, ran her hands through her hair, and choked out a sob.

She hadn’t slept well for six years. And she wasn’t sure if she was ever going to again.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all! This was my first time writing a one-shot in a veryyyy long time. It's been a while. Any and all feedback you have is super helpful! I missed writing a lot, and I am extremely open to doing it more often. If you have comments/questions/concerns/feedback, you can reach me at @cxptaincarol on twitter! Also, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE leave prompts or DM me there too! 
> 
> Thanks for your thoughts and for reading! Have a great one, folks. Higher, further, faster.


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